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I read Bag of Bones when it came out. I loved the first few chapters and considered it to be the best book I had ever read from him...I couldn't put the book down. Then, as the story went on, I totally lost interest in it and found the ending to be very dissatisfying. That was the very last book I ever read by him.
I had the complete opposite reaction. I found the first five or six chapters of BAG OF BONES to be a real slog. Real hard to get through. But once the story started going, I couldn't put it down. I think I read the last 250 pages in one sitting, and it remains one of my favorite King books.
I was big into King when I was in high school. (20 years ago, so I guess I read his old/middle works?). I read as many of his books as I could. I found him to be hit or miss. Some of his stuff I really liked, such as Misery, Different Seasons, and Christine. I agree with many on here about The Mist. I loved that story! But, for me, the majority of his works I ended up not liking at all.
I always felt like he started off a book really great, but would then lose his way in the middle and then never really know how to end it. Some of his books I felt I was just 'getting through' instead of really reading and enjoying. For example, I read Bag of Bones when it came out. I loved the first few chapters and considered it to be the best book I had ever read from him...I couldn't put the book down. Then, as the story went on, I totally lost interest in it and found the ending to be very dissatisfying. That was the very last book I ever read by him.
I guess I just gave up on him at that point. Too many disappointments for me. Every time I see a new book out by him, I hesitate. Just don't want to be suckered in again.
I 100% agree with this.
Last edited by katharsis; 11-20-2015 at 09:47 AM..
I was big into King when I was in high school. (20 years ago, so I guess I read his old/middle works?). I read as many of his books as I could. I found him to be hit or miss. Some of his stuff I really liked, such as Misery, Different Seasons, and Christine. I agree with many on here about The Mist. I loved that story! But, for me, the majority of his works I ended up not liking at all.
I always felt like he started off a book really great, but would then lose his way in the middle and then never really know how to end it. Some of his books I felt I was just 'getting through' instead of really reading and enjoying. For example, I read Bag of Bones when it came out. I loved the first few chapters and considered it to be the best book I had ever read from him...I couldn't put the book down. Then, as the story went on, I totally lost interest in it and found the ending to be very dissatisfying. That was the very last book I ever read by him.
I guess I just gave up on him at that point. Too many disappointments for me. Every time I see a new book out by him, I hesitate. Just don't want to be suckered in again.
King has a reputation for being prone to unsatisfactory endings to otherwise enjoyable novels.
In his book On Writing he notes that he does not outline his novels before/as he writes them, and so he isn't writing towards a specific ending. He just lets developments lead wherever they lead. He further advises writers that they should not outline. This is a mistake, I think. I'm not saying writers should outline - depending on the writer and the work, it isn't necessarily something one must do - but to say definitively that one should not outline really doesn't make any sense.
King does concede that the one novel he did outline, The Dead Zone, turned out pretty well. He's right - it's one of his better novels. And he often does finish novels well. 'Salem's Lot, The Shining, Misery - these ending well, apparently without advance plotting. But a lot of his works do seem to limp to an ending.
King does concede that the one novel he did outline, The Dead Zone, turned out pretty well. He's right - it's one of his better novels. And he often does finish novels well. 'Salem's Lot, The Shining, Misery - these ending well, apparently without advance plotting. But a lot of his works do seem to limp to an ending.
The Dead Zone, The Green Mile, and Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption are my three Stephen King works.
I tend to agree with this statement. His books always start off great but then the ending ruins them completely. I feel he has just been churning out the same stuff. I stopped reading his stuff long ago.
Location: Lakewood NJ/Murrells Inlet SC/ N. Naples FL/Swainton NJ
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I liked most of the King books I have read (and I have read most of them). Some I hated. But love or hate, I always consider them well written. Mr. Mercedes is on my short list of next reads.
I probably won't get much respect for stating this, but one of my all time favorite books is "Hearts in Atlantis".
I just read 11/22/63 and enjoyed every minute of it, which was a pleasant surprise because I am often disappointed in SK books. Not always though - he's sort of hit or miss.
I've just learned that if I lose interest in one of his books, just put it down and move on. With SK things rarely get better once traction is lost, so I cut my losses if the book gets boring or stupid. Enough of his books have held my attention though, for me not to be a SK hater.
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